Ex-Port Royal preschool worker facing child porn charges released from jail
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated Baker had previously been charged with possession of child pornography in Colorado in 2024. Police in Telluride said he was under investigation for the offense and that his house was searched for evidence, but he had not yet been charged with a crime. The investigation remained active as of January 2026.
A former employee at a Port Royal preschool who was charged with possessing child pornography was bonded out of jail Thursday evening.
St. Helena Island resident Brandon Scott Baker, 38, was released from the Beaufort County Detention Center around 6 p.m. Thursday after posting cash bonds totaling $100,000, court records show.
He faces three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two in the third degree and one in the second degree. The charges, both felonies, are used for defendants accused of possessing, uploading or receiving child sexual abuse material, more commonly known as child pornography.
Baker was an employee at Sea Island Sprouts, a preschool serving children ages 1 to 4. He was arrested at the school’s campus during morning dropoff on Tuesday, prompting concern from parents who claimed they weren’t properly informed about why police were there.
School staff wrote in an email to parents that based on their limited information from police, “there is no indication that any children at Sea Island Sprouts were involved.”
Baker had previously been under investigation for alleged possession of child pornography in April 2024 in Telluride, Colorado, where he lived. Local police received information from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force that implicated Baker in the crime, according to The Telluride Times.
The man’s past investigation, news of which could be easily found online, has prompted scrutiny of the background check process at Sea Island Sprouts, which opened in early 2025 near Port Royal’s downtown.
In an email to parents Tuesday, Sea Island Sprouts said all prospective employees take a “comprehensive, fingerprint-based background screening process” that includes background checks from the FBI and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The school also checks the child abuse and neglect registry, it said, and adheres to a “two-teacher policy” in every classroom to ensure safety.
Baker’s bond conditions did not go beyond the standard orders, which prohibit him from leaving the state and require him to notify the court of any address change, an employee of the Beaufort County Clerk of Court’s office said on Friday.
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 11:59 AM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated Baker had previously been charged with possession of child pornography in Colorado in 2024. Police in Telluride said he was under investigation for the offense and that his house was searched for evidence, but he had not yet been charged with a crime. The investigation remained active as of January 2026.
